By Rosalind S. Helderman, Anita Kumar
Monday, June 8, 2009
The three men seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia continued their final push across the state today in the sprint before tomorrow's primary.
Voters will choose between state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and former Alexandria delegate Brian Moran.
Moran concluded his week-long "Fighting for Virginia" tour with a pre-election rally at Market Square in Alexandria. Deeds spent the day hosting get-out-the-vote rallies in Southside and Southwest including stops in Danville, Martinsville, Bristol and Roanoke. Tonight, he will head back to his Charlottesville campaign headquarters for a rally.
McAuliffe started his day at an International House of Pancakes in Norfolk and then appeared in front of 100 enthusiastic supporters at a coffee shop near Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
"Tomorrow's the big day!'' McAuliffe said to a crowd waving blue "McAuliffe for governor" signs. "This what you have been working on for months!"
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Polls open statewide tomorrow at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m. Voters do not register by party in Virginia, so anyone can participate in the primary.
In the 2005 and 2006 Democratic primaries, turnout was between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent. But there might be greater enthusiasm for tomorrow's election -- the first contested Democratic primary for governor in three decades.
In a race without a clear front-runner, Deeds, McAuliffe and Moran have touted endorsements from civil rights leaders and black newspapers, mailed thousands of fliers and competed on the radio for support in areas that are not a natural base for any of the three.
They have crafted messages targeting black voters -- who accounted for an estimated 30 percent of the Democratic primary vote in 2008 -- with promises to reduce childhood obesity, spur economic renewal in the urban areas of Richmond and Norfolk and restore voting rights to nonviolent felons. All three have pledged to crack down on predatory payday lenders, an issue McAuliffe elevated by promising to drive such businesses out of the state.
The African American electorate is "a significant portion of the Democratic vote, particularly in a primary," said Rep. Robert C. Scott (D), the state's only black member of Congress, who added yesterday that he voted early for McAuliffe. "The name of the game is identifying your vote and getting it out."
Competing for the chance to oppose Republican Robert F. McDonnell in November, the candidates swept through the state's suburban north and rural southwest over the weekend, rallying with door-knocking volunteers, greeting voters at pizza parlors and barbecue joints and dropping by house parties. But yesterday morning, the place to be was in church pews in the state's two largest black population centers, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
In Norfolk, McAuliffe was ushered to the front row of Gethsemane Community Fellowship Baptist Church as the Rev. Kirk T. Houston Jr. belted out a rocking gospel number, with backing from the choir.
McAuliffe has made the black vote a key part of his strategy, picking up endorsements from the civil rights group Richmond Crusade for Voters and several of the state's leading black newspapers. Wagering that resentment from the 2008 presidential primary contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama has faded, McAuliffe has featured former president Bill Clinton in an automated phone call to voters, praising the candidate as someone who could create jobs as governor.
McAuliffe was introduced at the church by a young seminarian who was about to collect his degree from nearby Regent University. Called to the pulpit, McAuliffe gave a hoarse but rousing stump speech, bringing many in the congregation of about 300 to their feet when he promised to work for the automatic restoration of voting rights to convicted felons, shut down payday lenders and protect voting rights.
"I want to make it crystal clear: I want to help people," McAuliffe said.
Moran has spent years building a statewide network of Democratic loyalists attracted to his progressive message, and he is relying on supporters such as Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones to help get out the vote. He is seeking to undercut McAuliffe with radio ads and mailers reminding voters that McAuliffe chaired Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign and was one of her top advocates during the primary against Obama.
Yesterday, Moran visited the Fifth Street Baptist Church in the Highland Park neighborhood on the north side of Richmond, where Deeds appeared two months ago. He came at the invitation of Evelyn Morris-Harris, leader of the Democratic Black Caucus of Virginia, and the Rev. Todd F. Gray, the church's pastor.
Gray encouraged the parishioners to vote tomorrow and told them that he will be casting a ballot for Moran.
"Brian is right on guns. He's right on affirmative action. He's right on taxes. He's right on jobs," Gray said. "I'm not telling you who to vote for. I'm just telling you who I'm voting for. I'm voting for Brian Moran."
Moran sat in the front row and spent much of the service bobbing his head to upbeat music sung by a chorus of young adults. In a brief speech, he told parishioners that the race for governor had been a spiritual as well as physical journey. "I know working for this wonderful president we could defeat any foe, conquer any challenge we have ahead," he said.
Deeds, who has surged in recent polls, is seeking to fend off criticism from his Democratic rivals for his record of supporting gun rights, a position that could hurt the rural lawmaker in black communities. He is leaning on allies from his lengthy legislative career and his 2005 run for state attorney general, including Sen. Henry L. Marsh III (D-Richmond), a well-known civil rights lawyer, and Sens. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Yvonne B. Miller (D-Norfolk). Lucas and Miller are endorsing Deeds in a radio ad.
Deeds visited two African American churches in the Hampton Roads area yesterday, meeting and greeting people but not making formal remarks.
At Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Newport News, Deeds sat with his wife, Pam, as a member of the church gave a foot-stomping, bluesy rendition of "Amazing Grace." Overhead was a mural of a white hand clasping a black hand and the words, "Each One, Reach One."
"We're trying to reach everybody," Deeds said in an interview in Portsmouth. But he acknowledged the "huge" potential impact of the black vote tomorrow.
"That's where Terry's entire emphasis is," Deeds said, referring to McAuliffe. "So we'll see."
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